Process of ameliorating the taste of coffee.



HEINRICH WINTER, OF HAMBURG, GERMANY. 1

PROCESS OF AMELIORATING- THE TASTE OF No Drawing.

, Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 11,

Application filed March 25, 1910. Serial No. 551,543.

To all tohom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HEINRICH WINTER, a

subject of the German Emperor, and a resident of Hamburg, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Process of Ameliorating the Taste of Coffee, of which the following is a specification.

The subject matter of my invention is a method of improving the taste of coffee.

Various kinds of' cofl'ee are frequently found in the market which are faultless in appearance and nature, but after being roasted have a peculiar, very bitter taste and therefore can be sold less readily in spite of their other good qualities. These kinds which experts-term hard can have the hard taste entirely removed from them by the method/forming the subject matter of my invention, and they can be given a normal, mild taste and powerful aroma. 7

My method consists in bringing the beans of such coifees in their green or raw condition into contact for a long time with a moderately concentrated solution of sugar, whereby the same swell and absorb the solution. I take only so much of the latter as is absorbed by the coffee, because otherwise, reversely, the beans would be lixiviated. The beans are agitated from time to time in, order to distribute afresh over them the liquid which is not entirely absorbed at first. Obviously, the liquid can be drawn off from below by a pump or the like and supplied again to the beans until it is all absorbed or can be distributed over the beans several times in small portions, each time allowing thebeansto absorb it. The employment of a vacuum accelerates the absorption but is not necessary.

The quantity of the saccharine solution and the time of the swelling are dependent on the nature of the cofiee and on the concentration of the solution. The swelling quantity of sugar will already be absorbed.

in abouttwo. hours. The temperature'must never rise above 100 C; becausethen an evaporation of the water of the. sugar solution would take place and the beans would only be incrusted contrary tothe present invention which requires that the beans are impregnated with the sugar solution. The.

absorption of the solution is made easier by the application of a partial vacuum, but thls 1s not necessary. The coffee thus treat ed can now be roasted at once or be ,p'reviously dried in order to diminish the work of the roasting plant, and after being I roasted has a strikingly mild and aromatic taste in comparison with the same coffee which was not subjected to the describedm .treatment. I

' Pure cane sugar and grape sugar are most 1 tice, nevertheless the desired action is obsuitable'for carrying my method into practained also by means of invert-sugar, levu lose, milk-sugar and dextrin. In case the latter is used, it is necessary to wash the beansafter the absorption is completed and before roasting. Slight variations in the process are required for various kinds of coffee which are easily determined by those skilled in the art. My method is mostfef- 1 fective when applied to. hard cofi'ees but" it may also beused to other kinds of .cofiees.

Eazamples. Two examples are given below, onefor s5 great advantage with Y the simplest method'of carrying out the invention (a) for which no special mechanical devices are required and a second one (6) illustrating the quickest method in 4 which a drum is used which may be heated.

Example a: lbs. of old Bahia-coffee I are treated with 5 lbs. of asolution .con-- taining 1% lbs. of sugar infl-glbs. :of water.

The solution is applied by spraying it over the beans, then the beans are thoroughly turned by means of shovels so that they .be-

come uniformly moist. the beans is repeated every half hour. After three hours when the beans appear to be almost dry, another quantity of 5 lbs. of the same sugar solution is sprayed thereon and the beans are again turned every half" hour. This is repeated twice again so that the coffee after twelve hours has absorbed I 11o 20 lbs. of sugar solution or 6 lbs. of sugar This turning of.

tion containing 3 lbs. of' grape sugar in 7 lbs. of water are introduced into the drum, the steam turned on and the drum slowly rotated. After hour a like quantity of solution is added and then twice again the same quantity after the drum has been rotated for half an hour at a time. Thus in two hours the coffee has absorbed 12 lbs. of sugar and is first completely dried in a kiln and then roasted.

It is true it is well known to add sugar .to coffee toward the end of the roasting opeliltlOll or after the IOZISUHO" in this manq a a 7 o ner,however,1t.1s solely a matter of coatlng or candying the beans with a layer of melted and carmelized sugar. The coating is for protecting from too rapid volatilization the aroma of the coffee as formed from the aromatic constituents of the beans when roasted and to impart to the beans a pleasing appearance. It is obviously impossible to influence the changes which take place in the interior of the beans during the process of roasting. lVhen treated according to my method, however, the sugar or the like incorporated in the beans before the roasting participates from the very beginning in the roasting process just like the natural sugar of the coffee and has the same action in the formation of the aroma and the same influence of the final taste which the natural sugar in the beans has during the process of roast-ing, although it, like this, is destroyed for the most part, as such, under the action of the heat or is converted into other caramel-like and volatile substances.

I do not claim the coatingof coffee beans with a layer of sugar or sugar-like substances for polishing or preserving purposes but What I claim is:

1. The process of amelioratin the taste of coffee beans consisting in treating the raw coffee with a moderate quantity of a sugar solution, allowing the raw beans to absorb said solution completely, and afterward roasting the beans.

2. The process of ameliorating the taste of coffee consisting in treating the raw coffee beans several times with small portions of a sugar solution, each time allowing the raw beans to absorb said solution completely, and afterward roasting the beans.

3. The process of ameliorating the taste of coffee consisting in treating the raw coffee beans with a moderate quantity of a sugar solution, allowing the raw beans to absorb said solution completely, drying the beans, and finally roasting same.

4. The process of ameliorating the taste of coffee consisting in treating the raw coffee beans with a moderate quantity of a sugar solution, agitating the beans from time totime, allowing the raw coffee beans to absorb said solution completely, drying the beans, and finally roasting same.

5. The process of ameliorating the taste of coffee consisting in treating the raw coffee beans with a moderate quantity of a sugar solution at a temperature below 100 degrees Celsius, allowing the raw beans to absorb said solution completely, and afterward roasting the beans.

6. The process of ameliorating the taste of coffee consisting in treating the raw coffee beans several times with small portions of a solution of pure dextrose at a temperature below 100 degrees Celsius, each time allowing the beans to absorb said solution completely and agitating the whole from time to time, then allowing the beans to dry and finally roasting same.

Signed at Hamburg this 17th day of March, 1910.

HEINRICH XVINTER. \Vitnesses ERNEST H. L. MUMMENHOFF, O'r'ro V. HELLMRIGH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

